San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1887-08-25

at is worthy of note" continued the sui.
eide statistician, "that In the last official re-
port of 600 cases of suicide in the United
States in a single year, 179 are given as oc.
curing in Illinois, while in New York state,
with nearly double the population, there wers
but lG6 How to account for this do moi
know There are some peculiar facts about
this mania which do not recollect having
anywhere seen intelligently summarized The
largest number Of suicides occurs between the
ages Of As and so. suppose that just as the
prime of life is passed ones troubles begin tc
appear darker and darker to him, and the
will power and moral stamina grow CORE
spondingly weaker. August, that dreadful
hot month, is the leading suicidal month,
both in this country and Europe, which may
be easily accounted for. In hot weather the
weak and sick and melancholic are at the
lowest ebb, physically and spiritually, re-
freshing sleep is not easily had, and the result
is an epidemic of self destruction. In Europe
the smallest number Of suicides occurs in De
cember, while the minimum is reached In
America in January or February.
MOST FRUITFUL CAUSE
"The most fruitful cause of suicideg In.
sanity. This however, is in many cases an
unsatisfactory definition. II is the fashion tc
attribute self destruction TO temporary in.
sanity or alteration, when other cause,
would be more appropriate As a matter OF
fact nine out Of ten cases would, with nc
great stretch Of the proprieties, be attributed
to mental downfall But taking the stats.
tics as we find them we have about one
fourth of the total number of suicides, or 4O[
out of total Of 600, set down as the result
of insanity. Next comes family troubles,
with half as many CID, and business trou.
bles, with one-fourth as many Q1Sj, and love
troubles rather more than business embar.
rassnents or 124. Under these four specific
heads we find more than one-half the cases,
or nearly 800 in all. Dissipation is fifth, with
81; sickness sixth, with GO; restitution
seventh, with IS; undergoing or threatened
with punishment eighth, with 80; grief
ninth, with Al, and chagrin at parental dis
cipline tenth, with %.
"As said before, however, not much reli
ance can be placed on this classification Of
causes. Often the true cause is not known,
or is concealed by the deceased's relatives and
friends. venture the assertion, based upon
careful study OF the reports Of suicides, news
paper and statistical during the last ten
years. that three-fourths of the suicides in
this country are caused, directly or indi
rectly, by drink and gambling Drink brings
on physical ailments, destitution, grief, NOR
tification, family trouble, love trouble, in
sanity, alteration, mental and moral weak
ness, and the whole catalogue Of suicide causes
Gambling is often the outgrowth Of drink, as
are other forms Of dissipation sure to end in
disgrace and sometimes in death by ones own
hand. Religious morbidness is another fruit
full cause of self destruction which does not
show as conspicuOusly as it ought in the re-
ports. think that more than one-half of
the persons who take their own lives are Sc
cretly morbid concerning the problem OF a
future life. Chicago Herald